Texas officials identify Florida woman as homicide victim

LONGVIEW, Texas (AP) — Authorities in East Texas have identified a 21-year-old Florida woman as the person previously known as Lavender Doe after her body was found in 2006.

The Gregg County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday that authorities for years were unable to identify the body of Dana Lynn Dodd.

The identification of Dodd, who was last known to have lived in Jacksonville, Florida, was first announced by the California-based DNA Doe Project.

Forty-one-year-old Joseph Wayne Burnette of Longview is being held in her death. The Longview News-Journal reports that evidence found at the scene led authorities to identify Burnette as a person of interest at the time of her death.